Welcome To Jurassic World
by FictionQuxxn
Summary: 16 years ago, Owen Grady made a mistake, and the result of this was Alex Michelle Grady. Join the youngest Grady as she gets caught up in the fiasco that takes over the newest park: Jurassic World. What happens when Alex meets the Mitchell brothers? Will she get them back alive? And what will the outcome be when surviving means making some odd choices? T for swearing and violence.
1. Intro

**Intro**

 _On a cold night in September, roughly 16 years ago, Owen Grady made a mistake. A drunken rendezvous, inadequate protection, and the girl he was dating got pregnant. He left her alone for those scary 9 months, not caring about what would happen to her or the child, and more than happy to pay the child support money. But then it all went wrong._

 _She caught a vicious infection after giving birth to the child, and passed away in hospital not two days later. Owen was called in, to name the child, not to mention arrange his ex's funeral. When Owen saw the child, his whole view point shifted. She was beautiful, just like her mother was, but holding enough of his own face to stun him into silence. He knew now that no matter what, he couldn't leave that little girl ever again._

 _Owen often said it was just like what the newly hatched raptors did. Imprinting on the first face they saw; except this worked the other way around. So he scooped up the baby, and cuddled her close, promising her she would never be alone. And her life was perfect._

 _She grew up comfortably, spoiled by her dad, and the various surviving members of his family, being home-schooled, and travelling all over the country when Owen's work called for it, though she hardly saw him for the first eight years of her life. The best part of her life was interacting with the dinosaurs, once her dad quit his job in the army. She learnt all about them from Owen, and looked forward to the day she could help her daddy in training the raptors too._

 _But for now, she was too small. So she helped feed the herbivores, cleaned up their poop, mucked out their pens, looked after the baby dinosaurs, and baked cookies for the staff. Her sixteenth birthday arrived after what seemed like forever, and the park director Mr Masrani gave clearance for her to be trained by her father in raptor handling._

 _And that's exactly where she is to this day._

My name is Alexandra Michelle Grady. Welcome to Jurassic World.


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

(Hi!=Alex's POV | **Hi!** =Zach's POV)

The squeals of two pigs echoed around the paddock as the dinosaurs chased after them. I paced along the walkway; waiting for them to come into view. Owen leaned against the railings on the other side of the enclosure, eyes on the fringe of trees below. One of the pigs raced underneath me, and I snapped to attention, holding my clicker in the air and the bucket of mice ready at my feet.

"Hold it!" I shouted, as my pack of four raptors came sprinting into the clearing ahead of Owen's. They skidded to a stop, making barking and chattering noises, heads cocked as they looked up at me. "Eyes up here you guys! Nika, calm your stuff little lady! Zee! Stop bossin' your sisters around! Rogue, you stop scratching your ass right now! Hey, Georgie, shut it! I ain't taking your bullcrap today! Let's move!"

I inched to the right, bringing the white bucket of food, and spamming the little button on the clicker every so often to keep their attention.

"Good!" I called, as the pack kept their eyes on me as they shuffled to the left. "Now stop!" All of my raptors froze, even Nika, who was twitching like the jittery little bastard she was. "Good, Nika! You listen, you get food!" I tossed a mouse down to Nika, and she gulped it down. "Georgie, freeze!" I dropped a second mouse right in front of her, and she held still until I gave the signal to eat.

"Charlie, don't give me that shit!" I heard Owen yell from across the way. I grinned at him, before turning my attention to my beta and alpha raptors.

"Rogue, coil..!" Rogue crouched low, eyes on the brown mouse I held. I let it drop, and when I whistled she sprang into the air, her jaws clamping down on the rodent. "Good job. Now Zee..." I looked to my albino alpha, fondness in my eyes as I held out a white mouse. "What do you gotta do?" Zee made a few barking sounds, and the rest of her pack fell into a tight diamond formation, her at the head. "Atta girl!" I lobbed her food down, and she snapped it up quickly, already looking for more.

"Alright then, you gals did good. You go find that piggy." I pressed the clicker three times in a row, and the raptors fell still, eyes facing forwards. "Ready..?" Their stances shifted, and they sunk lower to the ground, muscles coiling in preparation to take off. "Go!" They sprinted into the trees behind me, way ahead of Owen's pack in terms of chasing down that pig. When Owen let his lot go, I made my way over, and smirked at him.

"Looks like your lot are gonna go hungry again today," I said in a light Southern accent.

"Not if I can help it. My girls are older, stronger, faster, and-!"

"Smarter? You keep saying that, but whose raptors get here the fastest, and leave the quickest?" He stayed silent, and I gave him a light punch on the shoulder. "Exactly. You give me some proof, old man, and I'll shut my mouth."

"You finally did it guys!" Barry walked up, clapping my dad and I on the shoulder, but before either of us could reply, a man called,

"Owen!"

"Good luck, dad," I said, but his hand on my bicep stopped me from leaving.

"Nuh uh, little lady, you're staying right here."

"I was starting to think I hired the wrong guy, but _damn_ , you got 'em eating out of your palm! And _you_ Alex-!"

"You came on a good day," Owen interrupted, putting a protective arm around my shoulders. "It's not usually a happy ending."

"That why you're not sending in your reports?"

"We've been busy," I replied snippily, brushing some dirty blonde hair out of my face.

"Too busy to cash your pay checks?" he asked, and I sighed silently.

"What do you need, buddy?" Owen asked, cocking an eyebrow at the ex-officer.

"A field test."

I turned on my heel and stalked off, my dad right behind me. Hoskins chased after us, determined to get his way.

"Hey! I've just seen they can... _respond_ to command. We need to take the research, and get it on its feet."

"They're wild animals, Hoskins, trust me you don't want them on the field!" I spat, keeping up my pace, my dad next to me now.

"I just saw a bond, a _real bond_ , between man and beast." Hoskins darted forward, standing in front of us, bringing us to a stop.

"You're in our way." Owen said simply, looking blankly at the marine.

"Come on, we're the same, we're dogs of war. We know that the military needs to reduce casualties. Some people think that robots are the future-!" At this I barged past Hoskins, and kept walking. "Look, Nature gave us the most effective killing machines, 75 million years ago, and now we know they can take orders."

"They went extinct for a reason: so ass-hats like you couldn't weaponize them," I snarled, glaring at the pudgy man in front of me.

"We finally make progress, and that's the first thing he says... 'Make a weapon'?!" Barry, my uncle-figure, asked, walking up to us from the other side.

"Come on, gents... and lady," he said as an afterthought, as we ambled along the walkway in a group. "It's grown-up time. Drones can't search tunnels, caves, and they're hackable. The minute a real war breaks out, all that fancy tech is gonna go dark."

"That tech's not gonna eat them if they forget to feed it," Owen quipped, and I snorted, pulling my hair back in a messy ponytail. Hoskins turned to look down at the enclosure, stopping briefly.

"Look. Look at these creatures. They've got millions of years of instinct in their cells: instinct that we can program... Their loyalty cannot be bought. These guys are gonna run straight into the enemies teeth and eat 'em, belt buckle and all."

"What if they decide they wanna be in control?" asked the back-up handler, turning to face Hoskins, a look of scepticism on his face.

"Well then we remind them who is. We terminate the rogues, promote only loyal bloodlines." Rogue looked up from her spot on the ground, hearing her name, and hissed at Hoskins. The men laughed, and I shook angrily.

"Yeah, slight flaw in that plan. I have a feeling that when they notice you slaughtering their sisters, they're gonna wanna take a huge chunk right out of your ugly face!" I hissed, glaring at the idiotic ex-marine to my right. Barry walked off, laughing at Hoskins all the while.

"You come here, and you don't learn anything about these animals except what you wanna know. You made them, and now you think you own 'em." Owen said calmly, nudging me discreetly: his way of telling me to calm down.

"We do own them. Extinct animals have no rights."

"They're not extinct anymore Hoskins," my dad retorted coolly, turning and leading me away.

"Exactly! We're sitting on a gold mine. And Masrani is using it to stock a petting zoo-!"

"He just wants to teach people some humility, he doesn't make weapons!" I countered, accepting a bucket of food from one of the helpers, and following my dad down the stairs.

"You think that the eighth richest man in the world is only into oil, telecom, and family fun parks? He's so diversified he doesn't even know what he owns!"

"How long have InGen been practising this pitch?"

"Since the day we hired you out of the Navy," Hoskins replied, still right on our heels. I felt like calling Zee on him, and getting her to rip him apart. Teach _him_ a lesson in humility... "You know the end game. These animals could replace _thousands_ of troops on the ground. How many lives would that save?"

Owen ushered me behind the gate, and slammed the door shut, locking it, with Hoskins on the other side, while we prepared to feed the raptors.

"War is a part of Nature. Look around, Owen. Every living thing in this jungle is trying to murder the other-!"

"I hope he goes first," I muttered to Owen under my breath, and he had to choke down a laugh.

"Mother Nature's way of... testing her creations. Refining the pecking order. War is a struggle: struggle breeds greatness."

"Now I need _that_ inspirational quote tattooed somewhere!" I cried, rolling my eyes. "I can see it now: ' _Struggle breeds Greatness' – Vic Hoskins, 2015_!"

"Without it, we end up in places like this... charging $7 a soda..."

"Do you hear yourself when you talk?" I asked, stepping up to the gate, and glaring at him.

"It's gonna happen," he said, smiling condescendingly at me. "With our without you and your boys. Progress always wins."

"Maybe progress should lose for once," my dad muttered, before squeals and shouting broke the afternoon quiet.

"Pig loose! Pig loose!" We hurried closer to the gate leading into the paddock, in time to see a young helper attempt to catch the pig in a wire loop, fail, and be yanked over the side by the terrified swine. He screamed, tumbling into the enclosure.

There were several bays from the raptor packs, as their focus snapped to the fallen boy, not much older than me. My dad and I rushed to the gate, quickly pressing on the release button, and waiting on tenterhooks as the gate pulled up agonisingly slowly. We rolled underneath the gate, and I moved forward to confront my pack, Owen moving slightly left to stand in front of his.

"Hold your fire! Do not fire!" I yelled, hands out to the raptors, eyes locked on theirs. "If you put 12 amps in these animals, they're never gonna trust us again!"

Georgie hissed at me, and Nika skittered forward, but I locked eyes with her and she backed up. I heard the boy being helped past the safety gate, and it was only Dad and I left.

"Dad, get back under the gate," I said in a calm voice. My eyes flitted between all the members of the pack, and I knew we were at a stalemate for now. I had an idea, and it would only work if Owen was out of the equation.

"No Alex, you go, and I'll follow you. Blue, stand down." he said in a level tone, and I grumbled under my breath.

"Oi! Rogue! You back up now! Go on, get!" I called, using a confident commanding tone, falsely showing I was in control of the situation. Rogue hissed, but shifted back a little, only to be urged forward by Zee. "Hey now Zee, don't you pull this 'I'm tougher than you' shit! We both know you're not..!

"Dad, seriously, I'm the weaker prey, if you go, then Blue's attention is gonna shift to me. My pack will get protective, either over alpha or prey, giving me enough time to dart back. Trust me, it will work."

"If you're not back under this gate in ten seconds-!" he threatened, before backing away, and rolling under the gate. Owen's raptors hissed, and turned their scaly heads to look at me. With eight raptors closing in, my heart rate and breathing picked up, and they sensed it: all of them chittering with excitement, and taking a few steps forward.

"So Zee, is this how it's gonna go?" I asked quietly, looking only at the white raptor directly in front of me, hands still warding off the others. "You gonna let a rival pack tear me open?" And just like that, everything changed.

Blue seemed to back up, scared, and a steely resolve entered Zee's eyes. She yipped loudly, and Rogue and Georgie hissed, turning on Blue, Charlie, Echo and Delta. Nika still growled at me, but she seemed conflicted. I decided this was the best chance I was gonna get.

"Hit the button!" I yelled, and my dad obeyed without question. I turned, and sprinted for the gate, drawing the attention back to me. I heard the raptors sprinting after me, but they were too late: I was rolling under the gate, the heavy metal thumping to the ground just as Zee reached it.

She shrieked at me, so loud I had to cover my ears, before turning, and snapping at the others, stomping off in defeat. My dad hauled me to me feet, and pulled me into a crushing hug.

"I'm thinking about sending you home right about now," he muttered into my ear.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Dad, thanks for asking," I teased, patting his back.

"As it is, I'm sending you to Claire's assistant Zara for the rest of today. She's already looking after Claire's nephews." He held me for a few more seconds, before letting me go, and touching a fingertip to a gash on my forearm. "Alex..."

"It was a twig, Dad. I'm fine." I explained, wiping the blood off on my khaki shorts.

"You're the new guy, right?" Owen asked, looking down at the shaken boy.

"Yeah," he replied, nodding his head from his position on the floor.

"You ever wonder why there was a... job opening?" The poor boy paled, and looked scared shitless.

"Hey," I murmured kindly, crouching down next to him, and grabbing his hand. "Just don't ever turn your back to the cage, alright?" Just to prove my point, Nika snarled like an angry puppy through the bars at him, and I whistled, pointing to the other side of the cage. She hissed again, before loping off. I stood, and turned around, meeting the greedy eyes of Hoskins, who just smiled at me, before turning, and walking away.


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

 **We were walking past the 'Baby Dino Petting Zoo' when Gray got distracted. Again.**

 **"Lift me up! I can't see!" he cried, jumping up and down behind a crowd of people.**

 **"I'm not Dad, and you're not five," I snapped, walking through the crowd who were transfixed on the little dinosaurs. They weren't all that interesting to me.**

 **"I can still ride the Triceratops, I'm 47.5 inches," he said, running up to me. I sighed, and roll my eyes, side-stepping a group of tourists.**

 **"This place is for little kids..."**

 **"Yeah, I know... Wanna go on the spinning dinosaur rides?!"**

 **"Nope. Hey, cover up your dork pouch." I looked behind us to see Zara several feet off, talking animatedly on the phone to someone called Owen. "Scatter."**

 **"What?"**

 **"Go, run, go go go go!" We ducked, and sprinted through the throng of people, weaving this way and that, huge grins lighting our faces. We were lost in the crowd seconds later, but we didn't stop running until we made it back to the central plaza. An announcement came on about a T-Rex feeding, and Gray lost his shit.**

 **"T-Rex T-Rex T-Rex, come on man, come on, let's go!"**

 **I walked slowly after him, shaking my head at his immaturity.**

 **Ten minutes later, we were standing in the viewing bridge, while a long metal arm dropped a lit flare in front of a goat that was tied to a post, just standing there, and nibbling at some grass. I almost felt sorry for the little guy.**

 **We heard the heavy steps of the T-Rex, and just as it was about to chomp down on the goat, I turned around, answering a call.**

 **"Hey Mom."**

 **"You were supposed to call me when you landed... Are you having fun?"**

 **"Yeah, uh, I guess," I replied, feeling guilty. "Um, Aunt Claire gave us passes so we don't have to wait in line-"**

 **"Wait, she's not with you?!" Mom asked in a panicky voice. I saw the chance to throw Claire under the bus, and seized it.**

 **"Nah, she dumped us on her assistant: Zara. She walked off on us, and now we're just chilling next to a T-Rex. Everything's good Mom."**

 **"Yeah, well... I'll call Claire up and have a word with her. You boys have a good time, alright? I love you."**

 **"Yeah, yeah Mom. Bye."**

"What do they want now?" Owen called, his hands buried deep within the body of his bike. I looked to my right, and saw the vibrantly red haired Claire stepping out of her silver 4x4, smoothing over her ridiculously severe bob, before picking her way over the uneven grass in her impractical pale tan heels.

"Mr Grady," she said, striding purposefully over, her unflattering white clothes whipping in the slight breeze. "I need you to come... take a look at something."

"Why are you calling me 'Mr Grady'?" Dad asked suspiciously, shifting atop his bucket seat.

"Owen... If you're not too busy." My dad took a swig of his Coke, and I sniggered under my breath, taking apart the last pieces of my tranquiliser, and starting to polish some of the internal parts.

"I'm pretty busy..."

"We have an attraction-"

"That's not what you said the last time I saw you," he snarked, standing up, and letting his dirty rag fall to the floor by the bike.

"Right here!" I called, not looking up from the shining silver metal.

"Sorry Junior!" he yelled, not taking his eyes off of Claire.

"I'm talking about the dinosaurs, Mr Grady-!"

" _Owen_!" he stressed, stepping closer.

"A new species we-ugh-made-!" My dad snatched the offending mosquito out of the air, and Claire grimaced.

"You just went and _made_ a new dinosaur?" I questioned, quickly slotting all of the gun parts back together, sliding a dart into the chamber, and firing it into a nearby tree. Yep. Still working.

"Yah, it's uh... kinda what we do here. The exhibit opens to the public in 3 weeks: Mr Masrani wanted me to consult with you..."

"You wanna consult here, or... in my bungalow..?" he asked Claire, smirking as he cocked an eyebrow suggestively.

"Dad!" I screeched, slamming the silver gun on the wooden decking. "That's not funny!"

"Heh heh heh!" he snorted, jogging up the stairs past me. "It's a little funny."

"We'd like you to evaluate the paddock for vulnerabilities," Claire continued, as though nothing had happened. The damned professionalism of this woman was stifling.

"Why me?!" my dad called from around the side of the wooden hut we called home on this island.

"I guess, Mr Masrani thinks since you're able to control the raptors-!"

"See, it's all about control with you," Owen said, popping up in front of Claire. I sighed, feeling one of his big speeches coming on. "I don't control the raptors, it's a relationship. It's based on mutual respect. That's why you and I never had a second date." Jeez. Harsh and to the point much?!

"Ouch," I muttered under my breath, watching as my dad walked back down onto the grass.

"Excuse me!" blustered Claire, stomping after him, "I never wanted a second date!"

"Who prints an itinerary for a night out?"

I winced.

"I'm an organised person!" she defended heatedly.

"What kind of diet doesn't allow tequila?!"

"All of them, actually," I put in, standing up and leaning on the porch railing, watching my father and Claire trade blows.

"Eh," he grunted in acquiescence.

"And what kind of man shows up to a date... in board shorts?" Claire fired, glaring at Owen.

"You didn't!" I gasped, appalled.

"It's Central America, it's hot!" he replied, his tone guarded.

"Okay, okay, can we just focus on the Asset..? Please..?" Claire asked, taking a few calming breaths.

"The Asset?" Owen and I questioned at the same time, looking incredulously at the red-head.

"Look, I get it: you're in charge here, you gotta make a lot of tough decisions, probably better to pretend these animals are just... numbers on a spreadsheet," Dad started, wiping his hands on another oily rag. "But they're not... They're _alive_."

"I'm fully aware they're alive..."

"You might have made them in a test tube, but they don't know that," I put in helpfully, inclining my head towards the centre of the island at the 'they' part.

"They're thinking: I gotta eat. I gotta hunt. I gotta..." Here he bit his lower lip, scrunching his eyes up, and punched the air in a tiny motion a few times, and I knew what he was insinuating: ' _I gotta hit that_ '. "You can relate to... at least one of those things, right?" he asked, a small grin lighting up his face, bright white teeth shining past the devious set of his mouth.

"Tuning out of the 18+ channel..." I mumbled under my breath, rolling my eyes at my Dad's womanizing.

"I'll be in the car," Claire said, walking down the steps towards him, and hovering inches from his face. I groaned, and turned my face to the sky. "You might want to change your shirt. They're very sensitive to... smell..."

I snickered as Claire walked back to the car, hips swinging.

"Dayum," my dad muttered, watching her go.

"Still here!" I grouched, before storming inside the house to change.

 **"The Mososaurus was thought to have hunted near the surface of the water, where it preyed on anything it could sink its teeth into. Including-"**

 **I cut the voice of the woman out, looking down at the texts that were rolling in from an unknown number.**

 ** _Unknown_** ** _-11:53_**

 ** _This IS Zachary Mitchell's number, right? Jeez, I hope this isn't some random staff member's number. Anyway, text/call me when you get this._**

 ** _A.G x_**

 ** _Unknown-11:54_**

 ** _Zach? You hearing me right now, buddy? Anyway, please text me to confirm your existence. Your Aunt wants me to meet up with you in an hour or so, and I'd rather not scour the whole park._**

 ** _I'm Alexandra, by the way. Alex Grady._**

 ** _A.G x_**

 ** _Unknown-12:03_**

 ** _Zach, I'mma have to end you if you haven't replied to me by ten past. I'll have to set my raptor Zee on you. You do know I train a raptor pack, right?_**

 ** _I'll talk to you later! ;P_**

 ** _Alex x_**

 **I replied to this 'Alex' girl quickly, trying to keep my phone screen away from Gray's prying eyes.**

 ** _Me-12:04_**

 ** _Hey Alex. Yeah, this is Zach. We're at the Mososaurus attraction. Me and Gray are gonna head off soon though. Call me when we need to meet up._**

 ** _Zach_**

 **I quickly saved her contact, and looked up from my phone, as Gray's annoying voice droned in my left ear.**

 **"Zach, Zach, the Mososaur's-!" I barely had time to stuff my phone into my jacket pocket, before a roar cut him off, and the giant dinosaur leapt from the sea, its jaws closing around the shark dangling over the water. It slapped back into the ocean with a huge splash, and a wave of water rolled over the crowd, soaking us thoroughly.**

 **I laughed along with Gray, shaking my wet hair out of my eyes. The stands groaned, and we started sinking below ground, a large glass panel coming into view, revealing the Mososaurus gliding past, and swallowing the shark whole.**

 **"It has 88 teeth!" crowed Gray, watching it swim past with awe. I laughed, and ruffled his hair.**

 **"Dork! Hey, you wanna see something else cool?"**

 **"Yeah!" he yelled back, and I grinned, glancing once more at the phone in my pocket.**


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

I was just reading the text Zach had sent me, when Claire stopped the car in front of the Asset's paddock. I slipped my phone into the back pocket of my khaki shorts, and hopped out of the 4x4, my forest green tank top fluttering in the stiff breeze.

"We've been pre-booking tickets for months: the park needs a new attraction every few years in order to reinvigorate the public's interest, kind of like the Space Program." began Claire, gravel crunching under her heels as she led us towards the concrete structure. "Corporate felt genetic modification would up the wow factor..."

"They're dinosaurs: wow enough." Owen said, his eyes roving over the large fenced off area.

"Not according to our focus groups." argued Claire, heading for a set of stairs. "The Indominus Rex makes us relevant again-"

"The Indominus Rex..!" my dad mocked, his eyebrows flying up.

"Just call it the Pepsisaurus and be done with it!" I spluttered, creasing up in laughter.

"We needed something scary and easy to pronounce." an exasperated Claire shot back. "You should hear a four year old try to say Archaeornithomimus."

"You should hear you try to say it!" my dad snarked, and I sniggered again.

We walked up the stairs and into a bland concrete room, with windows on all four walls, three of which were looking into the enclosure. A fat man was sitting at a console, looking at the bank of cameras while snarfing down a box of Dunkin' Donuts.

"So what's this thing made of?" Owen asked, as I strode up to the viewing windows, peering into the dense foliage.

"The base genome is a T-Rex, this rest is... classified," dodged Claire.

"You made a new dinosaur, but you don't even know what it is?" I asked, scepticism dripping from every word.

"The lab delivers us finished Assets, and we show them to the public; can we drop it's deer please?" Claire aimed the last bit at the security guard at the other end of the empty viewing platform.

"How long's this thing been in here?" my dad asked, scowling as he tried to look past the thick trees.

"All its life," Claire replied nonchalantly, and I frowned. The poor thing...

"Never seen anything outside of these walls?" Owen clarified, his eyebrows still scrunched together.

"We can't exactly walk it..."

"And you feed it with that?!" I asked incredulously, pointing to the animal carcass that was being lowered into the pen by a crane.

"Is there a problem?" Claire wondered, sounding utterly bemused. I huffed, and stalked away from Claire, her total lack of empathy bugging me to no end.

"Animals raised in isolation aren't always the most functional," my dad explained patiently, while I just rolled my eyes, and gnawed on my thumb nail.

"Your raptors are born in captivity-"

"With siblings," I interrupted, turning to look at the clueless woman. "They learn social skills..."

"And Alex and I imprint on them when they are born. There's trust-"

"And the only positive relationship _this_ animal has is with that crane." I said bluntly, motioning to aforementioned machine. "At least she knows that means food..."

"So she needs a _friend_ ," Claire said condescendingly, and I gritted my teeth. "We should schedule play-dates, that sort of thing..."

"Probably not a good idea," my dad said helpfully, and I sighed, fiddling with my braided hair. Claire suddenly leaned forwards, and tapped on the glass.

"Where is it..?"

A tense feeling was growing in my stomach, and I shot a furtive glance into the wall of green. I walked closer to Owen, needing his aura of comfort and familiarity.

"Is it in the basement?" he quipped, his hands resting on his belt. "Is there a downstairs? Maybe it's in the rec room..!"

"It was just here, we were just here..." muttered Claire, and that tense feeling gripped me harder.

"Dad..." I started, but I fell silent as I saw something on the wall. I was aware of Claire checking the pen for any heat traces, but I was too stunned to properly focus on her or her fancy machinery. I tugged on Owen's sleeve, and he followed me as I, in a dazed state, walked to the other end of the viewing stage.

"Oh shoot..." he said, and his posture immediately tightened. I sensed more than heard Claire and the guard talking in the background, but my body felt like it had been dipped in ice water, and then plunged into a furnace.

I was receiving so many mixed signals to run or go in and investigate, stay calm or fall to pieces that I just stood there, and stared at the concrete wall in front of me. The squeal of the guard's chair across the floor broke me out of my trance, and I raised a shaky hand to point through the window, turning back to Claire as I asked in a surprisingly steady voice,

"Were those claws marks always there?"

Claire came closer, and as her eyes found the deep gouges in the concrete, her face fell into an expression of terror.

"You think it..? Oh God..!"

"Alex, go get in the car!" my dad snapped, and I knew not to protest. This was serious. "If it turns up, or something happens to us, you get the hell out of here, get to the Visitor's Centre, and find Claire's nephews if there's time. Go!"

I raced out of the room with Claire's keys, taking the stairs three at a time, and tearing to the car, opening the driver's side, and throwing myself in, absently noting the silence of the woods around me. I sagged into the seat, breathing hard, hands trembling. Only seconds later was Claire pulling me out of the car, saying something about a tracker, and getting to the Control Room. Before I had time to process what had happened, she had already peeled off.

A choked sob burst from my chest, and I gasped, pressing shaky hands to my mouth, trying to control my breathing. Just as I thought I had calmed sufficiently, a primal roar echoed from inside the concrete paddock, and my heart stopped.

"DAD!" I shrieked, and mindlessly sprinted for the enclosure. I heard heavy footsteps, and a man's agonised scream. I stalled, hoping against hope that it wasn't Owen. "Please please please please please..!"

The door only ten feet in front of me started to slide open, and I held my breath as the fat guard slipped through the widening crack. I shuffled from foot to foot, sagging in relief as I recognised my dad's running form. The door stalled briefly then began to march closed, and I only then noticed the looming figure of the Indominus Rex, pale and leanly muscled, several metres behind my dad.

"RUN!" I screamed, taking several steps forward. Dad's eyes locked on mine, and he pushed harder, waving for me to turn and run myself. I waited however, only turning to move when his arms reached the narrow gap. He flashed past me, yanking me after him by the wrist. I screamed and ducked my head when the Indominus got caught in the door, rubble flying everywhere.

He pulled us on a level with a parked tour truck, and shoved me underneath, scrambling after me himself. His arms wrapped around me when I whimpered, his hand pressed over my mouth, my face close to his chest. I watched with wide hazel eyes as the Indominus growled, slowly walking forwards, and around the side of a white pick-up truck. My shoulders heaved, grief wracking through my body when I saw the security guard huddled at the front of the truck in plain sight.

The guard leaned forward, looking around the nearest side of the truck, only seeing the tip of the dinosaur's tail. The Indominus suddenly flipped the truck away, and I cried out as it smashed down next to us, glass flying under our truck, and making a small slice in my cheek. My dad cursed slightly, and hugged me tighter to him, his shirt blocking my view completely now.

So I was nestled in a world of sky blue cotton fabric for a few seconds with the smell of Owen's cologne in my nose, and the sound of tearing flesh marring the otherwise pleasant atmosphere. My dad quickly readjusted, and I heard the slashing of a knife through rubber, before we were both doused in lukewarm motor oil.

"Don't breathe..!" he hissed in my ear, and I trembled as the heavy breathing of the Indominus Rex came closer. I did as I was told, taking a hasty breath, and holding it deep in my lungs as the rumbling sounds grew louder; hot rancid breath washing over me from the other side of my father's still form. I tried to stay calm, I really did, but the hot puffs of air, the guttural panting, and the combined smell of bad meat, blood, and rusted metal had my heart rate picking up, and my palms turning clammy.

The Indominus roared, and I sucked in a tiny startled breath, wincing when a foot came down hard not two metres to our left. We held completely still as it slowly walked on, seemingly headed towards the forest. Neither of us moved, however, until the sounds of the reptile had faded into the distance, and the birds resumed their chirping once more.

 **"If Mom and Dad get divorced, will one of us be with Mom, and the other with Dad?"**

 **"What? Why would you say that?!" I asked, turning to look down at Gray. Where in fuck had that come from?**

 **"'Cause they are."**

 **"No, they're not. They're not gonna get divorced..! Look, you haven't been around long enough, they've always been that way..."**

 **Gray shook his head, looking utterly miserable.**

 **"They get mail from two different lawyers-"**

 **"That doesn't mean anything-"**

 **"I Googled, they're divorce lawyers..." Gray choked out, seemingly on the verge of tears. I looked away, feeling uncomfortable, and kind of... scared? I'm not meant to be scared, I'm 16 for crying out loud. I found myself speaking without really thinking about what I was saying.**

 **"Whatever. It doesn't matter, I'm gonna be gone in two years anyway, all my friends' parents are divorced, and..." I looked over, and Gray was crying, and breathing erratically. "Hey, knock it off!"**

 **"No," he mouthed, his face turning pink.**

 **"You're gonna cry?" I asked, slightly repulsed. Stop him crying, stop him crying..."Look, you're gonna get two everything: you're gonna get two birthdays, two Thanksgivings, two-"**

 **"I don't want two of everything..." he whimpered, looking over at me.**

 **"Yeah, well, it's not up to you, alright..." I said bitterly, looking him in the eye. "There's a point you have to grow up."**

 **Gray said nothing, and looked out of the window again. I turned away, frustrated, and leaned my head back on the seat, glaring at the ceiling. Great job Zach...**


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

 **"So, the proteins and the cell membranes get all mixed up, and uh uh uh..."**

 **Thankfully Gray's nerdy ramblings were cut off by my phone ringing. I quickly answered the call, not checking the Caller I.D.**

 **"Hello?"**

 **"Zach, where are you?" A feminine voice, accented with soft Southern tones bled through the speaker, and my eyebrows furrowed.**

 **"Who is this?"**

 **"Alex you idiot. Where are you?" Oh. So** ** _this_** **was that Alex Grady chick.**

 **"Um, Gray and I are in the queue for the Gyrosphere..." I heard a chuckle from the phone, and then a shout reached my ears, from the phone and from behind me.**

 **"Zach!"**

 **I turned around, phone still next to my ear, and caught sight of a girl roughly my age, tanned, with hazel eyes, golden dirty blonde hair, and a smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. I waved uncertainly at her, and she beamed, ending the call. She pushed through the crowd, flashing her staff badge at anyone who complained. Pretty quickly she was next to us, and introducing herself to my brother.**

 **"Hi, you must be Gray. I'm Alex, and I'm a member of staff here at Jurassic World. Nice to meet you."**

 **"That's so cool!" Gray breathed, staring wide-eyed at Alex. "Where do you work?"**

 **"I train one of the raptor packs," she said, before Gray cut her off with a barrage of questions.**

 **"What are you doing here?" I hissed, eyes flicking between her and Gray.**

 **"Owen told me to come find you guys, and look after you, I guess," she shrugged, and waved at the guy operating the gate for the Gyrospheres.**

 **"Who's Owen?" I wondered, recognising the name of the guy Zara was talking to before we ran off.**

 **"My dad," she said simply. "He trains the other set of raptors." Another glass ball rocked up, and the dude waved us forward. I was about to speak up, but Alex beat me to it. "Josh, can you call up one of the four-seaters? It's just that, I'm meant to be looking after these boys for Claire, and I would rather not have them go around on their own."**

 **"Sure Alex," Josh stuttered, and waved two people in front of us. They set off, and not thirty seconds later a larger Gyrosphere with four seats rolled along the tracks towards us, and we all climbed in, Alex and I in the front, while Gray perched in the back. The door slid closed, and we buckled up just as the ball started moving.**

 **We cruised around the grassy plains for about fifteen minutes, Gray firing off questions, while Alex went out of her way to answer them, and reel off some random facts about some of the dinosaurs and plants we might see. I was fiddling with the display between mine and Alex's seat when a small feed started playing, showing Jimmy Fallon trying to explain something to us, while things blew up and went horribly wrong around him.**

 **"Where are they?" Gray asked impatiently, craning his head around in all directions.**

 **"Oh man," I said quietly, eyes fixed on the massive herd of dinosaurs in front of us.**

 **"We've got Triceratops, Brachiosaurs, Brontosaurs, Stegosaurs-"**

 **Alex was cut off when the display in front of us started beeping.**

 **"Due to technical difficulties, all rides are now closed. Please disembark all rides, and return to the resort."**

 **"Shit!" Alex cursed, and started to fiddle with the controls, starting to bring us round.**

 **"Come on, no, we can stay out a couple more minutes," I protested, gently pulling her hand away from the joystick.**

 **"But they said it was closed," Gray commented softly, leaning forwards between our seats.**

 **"Aunt Claire gave us special wristbands, right? We're VIP, dude. Come on... It'll be fun."**

 **"Zach, you don't understand," Alex said nervously, gnawing on her lip, and wringing her hands, while I pushed the accelerator forwards.**

 **"Live a little," I yelled over the sounds of the dinosaurs. She gave me a look, but sat back against the seat, and pulled out her phone, fingers flying over the screen.**

Zach's phone began to ring, and he pulled it out of his pocket, still steering us around the field.

"Hey Claire,"

" _Zach, thank goodness. Is Gray with you?_ "

"Yeah, I uh, can't really hear you; we're in the hamster ball."

" _Zach, listen to me! The..._ " All I heard was unintelligible static and I panicked, pulling out my own phone. My message to my dad and Claire hadn't been sent, and the little icon at the top of my phone screen told me that it was roaming for signal, and finding absolute fuck all. Zach hung up with a grunt, and stowed his phone away again.

"Shit shit shit shit..." I breathed, closing my eyes and taking a moment to breathe.

"Hey, what happened here?" Zach asked randomly, and I opened my eyes to see us approaching the perimeter fence, only to find the gate hanging wide open. "Dude... Off-road!"

"But they told us to go back," Gray protested. Smart kid.

"Zach-!" I tried to intervene, but he cut in-front of me.

"You know, I'm just worried you're not getting the full Jurassic World experience." He hushed Greg, as he pushed forward on the accelerator, sending us rolling into the gloomy forest.

"No, no, bad idea," Gray said for the tenth time, trying to convince Zach to spin the Gyrosphere around.

"No, great idea," he urged, weaving slowly around a large tree.

"We're gonna get arrested, they'll shave our heads, and we're gonna have to make root beer in the toilet."

"What kind of prison have you been too?" I asked Gray incredulously, distracted by his odd statement. I soon went back to a nervous wreck, eyeing the trees around us, and looking out for anything out of the ordinary.

"Look, we'll go around for a few more minutes, and-"

"Zach, can we please get back... _now_?" I asked in a shaky voice, nerves frayed, and more jittery of the surrounding forest than I should have been. Zach looked at me seriously for a minute, before exhaling in a gust.

"Fine..." He was in the process of spinning us around, when we caught sight of a herd of Ankylosaurs, which must have broken through the fence once the power was out. "There, see, I _told_ you! You're welcome, Gray, up close and personal with four... Dinosauruses..."

"Ankylosaurs," I said, smirking at Zach. He pulled a face, and I turned to look back at Gray as he began to speak.

"We shouldn't be here. And there are five dinosaurs..."

"Aren't you supposed to be a genius, or something?" Zach asked mockingly, while I turned back around to make sure the Ankylosaurs weren't injured. "Look, one, two, three... four."

"Five," Gray said weakly, pointing at the reflection of something in the glass of the Gyrosphere. My stomach dropped, and we all turned around slowly, to see the Indominus leering over us. It roared, and Zach and I spun back around, both grappling for the joystick.

"Shit; drive!" I shrieked, but before we could move the Indominus surged forward, kicking the Gyrosphere across the clearing, sending us spinning. We all cowered down and covered our heads, while we bounced between trees and dinosaurs alike. Gray was squealing in the back, and Zach had grabbed onto my hand instinctively.

"Pull it together man," he shot back at Gray, and if I were in a position to, I would have rolled my eyes and scoffed at him. We came to a stop, and I looked around, seeing the Indominus in front of us, fortunately more focused on an Ankylosaurus than us.

Zach reached out for the joystick, and began to steer us away, zooming past the Ankylosaurus. Its clubbed tail lashed out, and smashed into the front of the Gyrosphere, sending us hurtling backwards.

Gray screamed again, and we quickly collided with a tree, the electro-magnet underneath us (that held us upright) shorted out with a fizzle, and we slowly slipped upside-down. I grappled frantically with the joystick, to find that it was useless, and we were stuck like this.

I watched, horrified, as the Indominus Rex attacked the Ankylosaurus, being hit twice with its tail, before she learned how to doge its attacks. The Indominus tried to bite at the Ankylosaurus' back, before clawing at its side, and flipping it over. The Indominus planted a foot on its underbelly, and clamped its jaws around the poor dinosaurs' neck, wrenching it off.

"We're safe in here, right?" Gray asked, his eyes squeezed shut.

"Yeah," Zach mumbled.

"Totally safe," I added, trying to believe it myself. A loud buzzing filled the Gyrosphere, and we looked up at the floor of the glass bubble, to see Zach's phone vibrating, Claire's I.D. lighting up the screen.

"Fuck!" Zach hissed, and tried to reach out and grab the phone.

"Turn it off!" I whisper-yelled, noticing that the amplified noise had drawn the Indominus' attention.

"Zach!" Gray whispered, gazing at the dinosaur.

"Almost got it," Zach huffed back, face red with the strain of reaching for the phone, and being held upside-down for so long. I grunted, and tried to reach for the phone too, frantic now.

"Zach?!"

"Yeah?"

"Look."

We both looked up, to see the Indominus crouched before us, pupil narrowed into a slit, regarding us coldly. It stood up, and hovered over us, spinning the ball gently, trying to find a way inside. It didn't take long, and we all flinched, as a long claw pierced the bullet-proof glass. We had rotated so we were on our backs now, looking up at the Indominus as it watched us, deciding what to do next.

She leaned down suddenly, and tired to bite the ball. The other two screamed, while I watched with bated breath, as its teeth slipped over the surface. I was about to relax, when its jaw tensed, and her teeth found purchase in the glass, lifting us clean into the air. The Indominus brought us harshly down on the ground a few times, breaking the back of the Gyrosphere open.

"Gray, get your belt!" I yelled, quickly undoing mine and Zach's harness, rolling into the middle of the sphere, and falling into the back seats. We crashed down again, and just as we were lifted up, I pulled Zach and Gray onto the floor, huddling tightly in the dirt, while the ball hit the ground surrounding us.

"Go go go!" Zach shouted, pushing Gray to his feet, and we sprinted out of the clearing, the Indominus roaring furiously behind us. We broke onto a small field, and my heart hammered in my chest as I heard the familiar heavy steps. We skidded to a stop on a rock ledge, looking down to see a clear blue waterfall collecting in a pool at the bottom.

"Hold your breath!" I advised, before pushing Gray over the edge.

"What are you doing?!" Zach bellowed, turning to face me.

"We have to jump!" I shouted back, glancing over my shoulder to see the Indominus gaining on us.

"I'm not going to-!"

I knew we had to go over the edge now, or be ripped apart by the Indominus Rex, so I did the first thing that popped into my head.

I pulled Zach close, locking our mouths together feverishly. I pushed him away just as quickly as I had drawn him in, sending him tumbling over the cliff. I wasted no time, and jumped after him, hearing the snap of jaws closing in the air behind me as I plummeted closer to the water.

The last thing I heard before I hit the water was the frustrated bellow of the Indominus Rex 50 feet above me.


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

Gray stumbled through the underbrush ahead of us, seeming dead on his feet. I was two metres or so behind him, my small tranquilizer in my hand, loaded and ready to go, while my eyes scanned the foliage for any of the smaller dinosaurs that might be homing in on us.

"Hey!" Zach hissed quietly, jogging to catch up with me. I ignored him, and kept walking. "Hey!" He grabbed my wrist, and spun me around to face him.

"Take a breather, Gray!" I called ahead, knowing this would take a bit of time. "Just stay close!" Rounding on Zach, I glared at him, and slid my gun back into its holster. "What, Zach? Make it quick."

"What the _fuck_ was that back there?! What was assaulting and/or kissing me meant to achieve?!" he fumed, hand still tight around my wrist. "I have a girlfriend, and I did _not_ appreciate-!"

"Well, _I'm_ sorry that you don't appreciate me saving your life!" I spat, fire burning in my eyes. Could he not just be grateful, or ignore what happened and move on?! "I'll make sure to save myself and leave you behind next time we encounter a 50 ft, man-eating, genetically engineered monster!"

"You wouldn't leave me behind, would you?" Gray asked timidly, and I turned, smiling wearily at him.

"N-"

"Stay out of it, kid!" Zach grouched, and I whirled on him again.

"No, Zach, don't take it out on him! The poor kid's probably scared out of his mind, exhausted, and just wants to go home! You don't get to-!"

 **I just stared at her, while she went off on her little rant. The only reason I went off on her as I did was because I was so conflicted. As I said before, I had a girlfriend back home, and I shouldn't even be looking at anyone else, let alone kissing them. But then why had I been looking at all those girls before? Why did I enjoy that kiss so much, as brief as it was..?**

 **I felt as though I were obligated to have a go at Alex, because it's what a good boyfriend would have done. I wanted to smother the curious side of myself, and do what a normal person would do. But I had to admit to myself now, that I really hadn't wanted to shout at Alex; hadn't really minded that hurried kiss at all.**

 **Because looking at her now: in her mud-caked combat boots; the daubing of dried blood on her khaki shorts; the shining silver of her holstered tranquilizer; the dirty, damp tank top that hugged her figure; the sopping syrupy locks that clung to her face, neck and back; the fire in her hazel eyes; and the anger that stained her cheeks with a pink flush...**

 **I knew right then and there, that I was more than a little taken with Alex Grady.**

"-completely immature, and downright mean!"

I was panting by the time I was finished, and Zach was just staring at me, mouth slightly open.

"Zach?"

"Uh, what?" he asked, shaking his head once to clear it. I huffed, and stalked off, Gray trotting along at my side. We had only been walking for a few minutes, when Gray stumbled over something on the floor. I bent down to pick it up, and felt slightly ill. I held the helmet out slightly so Zach could see, and we both grimaced at the large hole in the top, surrounded by dried blood.

We looked further through the trees, and saw the wreck of a park truck up against a tree, throwing sparks everywhere. I drew my gun again, and double checked it was loaded, before taking a step forwards.

"Stay here," Zach muttered to Gray, and we walked forwards together, Zach slightly behind me, and holding a heavy branch for protection. Gray scurried after us, and we all looked around cautiously, making sure nothing was waiting to ambush us. The last thing we needed was a pack of Troodons emerging from the trees, and tearing us to shreds.

I stepped up to the truck, and had a rummage inside, finding nothing except a flashlight that barely worked. I pocketed it anyway, and was just about to tell Gray and Zach that we should move on, when the oldest Mitchell brother grabbed my hand, and spun me around.

We crept towards the dark doorway, overhung with dead creepers, and only when we were six or so feet away did we spot the sign above the double doors.

"It's from the old park," I breathed, and Zach nodded absently, stepping forwards and pushing the heavy doors aside.

"Wow," he whispered, and I recognised what used to be the Exhibition Hall. Zach stooped down, and picked up part of a dinosaur skeleton, and I plucked up an old banner. He turned to Gray, taking the cloth from me. "You still have those matches?"

"Here you go." Gray pulled a small book of matches out of his little pouch, and Zach wrapped the banner around the T-Rex rib, before holding a lit match to the fabrics, watching it catch fire. I pulled out the flashlight, and flicked it on, only for the light to die after a few seconds. I sighed, and tucked it into my belt, certain it could be useful later.

Zach led us through the ruins, torch held high, while Gray and I looked around at some of the dinosaur pictures on the walls. After a brief pause we walked on, and emerged in some kind of garage. Gray wandered over to a set of shelves, and examined a headset, while Zach and I went to look at the old park vehicles.

"1992, Jeep Wrangler Sahara, sand-beige," Gray reeled off, and I rolled my eyes affectionately at the kid. There was a slight pause, and Zach seemed to be deep in thought.

"You remember when we fixed up Grandpa's old Malibu, right?" he asked Gray, and I could almost see the cogs turning in his head.

"Yeah?" Gray replied firmly, and Zach broke out into a grin.

Oh Lord, here we go...

Zach removed some bulky part of the truck, Gray standing at his side, while I sat against a tree, cleaning out my gun. It wasn't necessary, since I had already done so this morning, but it was a nervous habit of mine. A twig snapped, and I looked up, eyes sweeping the tree line.

"You think it's out there?" Zach asked, hands grubby with motor grease settling on his jeans. Gray looked scared, and Zach quickly back-pedalled. "I mean, I know for a _fact_ , that it's _definitely_ not out there... Totally safe..!"

Gray nodded quickly, and swallowed, still seeming nervous. Zach shuffled forwards, and gave the heavy cube-like part to Gray.

"Here, take this... You're stronger than me..."

I smiled softly at the tender exchange, and watched as Gray moved slightly inside, presumably to clean off or exchange the part. I got up, and walked closer to the vehicle, sitting on the ground next to Zach.

"You're a good brother, you know?" I said quietly, eyes soft when Zach turned to look at me.

"No I'm not," he mumbled dismissively, plucking another small part out of the Jeep.

"You are," I insisted, pulling him to a stop. "You're not perfect, but if I had a brother, I'd want him to be like you."

"Why, have you got a sister then?" he asked curiously, sitting back on his haunches, and stretching his back. I shook my head, and laughed without humour.

"I wish. No, I'm an only child... I wasn't even planned. And you know what they say..." I chuckled again, voice tired and dejected. "'Always learn from your mistakes...'"

"Well, you're one mistake I'm glad for."

I looked up at Zach, and he was giving me a little half-smile, not quite meeting my eyes. I smiled back, and pushed myself to my feet.

"Real cute, Zach. Cheesy... but cute." I walked back to the tree, and plopped down at its base, picking up the pieces of my firearm, and polishing furiously. Gray gave a little shout of success from inside, and started to walk back over. And only just loud enough for Zach to hear, I whispered, "Thank you."

 **"Alright, turn it over," I said, quickly rubbing my nose with the back of my left hand, wrench in my right. Gray turned the key in the ignition and the engine revved to life. "Woo!"**

 **"It works!" Gray yelled, and I grinned at him. You don't say, kid..!**

 **"Let's get this show on the road!" Alex shouted, and we all laughed. Gray scooted into the passenger seat, while I climbed into the driver's side. Alex hopped up into the back of the Jeep with all of the boxes, and perched there pretty comfortably, gun at the ready.**

 **"I thought you failed your driver's test?" Gray suddenly spoke up, and I rolled my eyes.**

 **"No... Only the driving part," I amended, and I heard Alex snickering at me from the back of the truck. I rolled my eyes again, and gunned the engine, sending us flying out into the thick foliage. We had only been driving for a few minutes, when the sound of a helicopter went overhead.**

 **"What the-?" Alex muttered, standing up in the back to try and peer through the canopy.**

 **"Sit down!" I yelled back at her, worried she was going to get taken out by a tree branch. She complied, albeit reluctantly, and there were a few more minutes of silence before the sound of heavy automatic gunfire rolled across the forest.**

 **"Something's wrong," Alex said, leaning forward between our seats slightly. "It has to be close, and it sounds as though they aren't using non-lethals anymore."**

 **"Let's just get back to the resort," I said soothingly, and she seemed satisfied with this course of action, settling back down without another word. After a half-mile or so, a huge explosion, and an angry primal roar met our ears.**

 **"Sounds pissed," Alex commented, and I gritted my teeth, pushing down harder on the accelerator. We drove for a mile or so, before we reached a proper road, and the trees thinned drastically. We barrelled through an old electric fence, and a sense of elation washed through me.**

 **"Okay, that's it. We're safe now," I said, allowing a small smile to settle on my face.**

 **"Shouldn't have said that..."**

 **I was just about to reply to Alex, when Gray suddenly started slapping the dashboard, and shouting at me to, 'Go!'**

 **I looked in the rear view mirror, and cursed, seeing a large number of air-borne dinosaurs flying after us. I shifted into the highest gear, and stomped on the gas, gripping the steering wheel in white-knuckled hands.**


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

"Stop running!" the British chick (Zara) yelled, trying to chase after us. I just grabbed Gray's hand, and ran faster, taking out any dinosaur that came near us with a well-aimed dart. We stopped in the middle of a crossing, looking around, and trying to find a safe place to wait until this was over.

"Don't just stand there-!" She was abruptly lifted into the air, and carried off, so fast that I didn't have time to shoot the Pteranodon that snagged her. We quickly sprinted along, following the giant dinosaur, and watched with horror as she fell into the water. We ran up to the guard-rail, to see several Pteranodons snapping around in the water, fighting over Zara, while she screamed bloody murder.

They were too far out for me to do anything, and she would drown more likely than not, even if I could take out the winged predators. I gaped when the Mososaurus leaped from the water, its jaws closing around Zara and the Pteranodon that was about to take off with her.

"Go!" Zach urged, pulling Gray and I away from the railing. "Get inside, now!"

We sprinted along the streets, until I made out a female voice, yelling for Zach and Gray.

"Claire!" I gasped, pulling the boys around the corner with me. I saw a group of men lined up in the street, firing at the rogue dinosaurs, my dad heading them. Claire was standing on a fallen food stand, making sure she could be seen, but also making herself a huge target.

"Aunt Claire! Claire!"

"Dad!"

The boys and I screamed together, sprinting down the road, and away from a Pterodactyl chasing us. I saw my dad open his mouth to say something, and start to bring up his gun, when a small, large headed dinosaur landed on his back, digging its claws in, and sending him to the floor.

"DAD?!"

The Pterodactyl behind us clipped a hot-dog cart with its wings, and came crashing to the floor, sending the boys and I flying in two different directions. I quickly got to my feet, looked right to see that Zach and Gray were safe, before charging over to Owen, who was struggling with the scrawny Dimorphodon, trying to keep its teeth from his face and neck.

I ran up, and punted the dinosaur in the head, sending it flying off my dad, before putting two darts into its neck and torso. Claire helped my dad to his feet, while I winced, the fading adrenaline finally revealing a nasty cut just under my bust from a rogue Pteranodon's beak.

"Gray! Zach!" Claire rushed past me to get to the Mitchell's, and my dad quickly reeled me in, and crushed me in his arms.

"Alexandra Michelle Grady, you are so grounded," he mumbled into my shoulder, and I patted him on the back, trying not to gasp in pain.

"Nice to see you too!" I said in a strained voice, and he let me go. His eyes immediately went to my left side, fingertips brushing at the bloodstained fabric there. I hissed, and he pulled away, asking a nearby staff member for a first aid kit. They tossed him one, and my dad whipped out a bandage, quickly lifting up my vest, and wrapping it around my middle, a large piece of alcohol soaked gauze pressed over the wound.

"Who's that?"

I turned around, to see Claire, Gray and Zach standing there, the latter squinting at my dad. I cleared my throat, and slid my gun into its holster.

"Zach, Gray, this is my dad, Owen."

"Hey, come on, we gotta go." Owen said brusquely, jerking his head back towards the resort. Claire fussed over Gray, and Zach came to walk next to me, helping to keep me upright if I stumbled.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, spotting my bloodied tank top. I nodded, and kept close behind my dad, as he led us away from the masses, and into a sheltered part of the park I'd never seen before.

Claire was speaking into the phone, and I was ignoring her for the most part, until one sentence caught my attention.

"What do you mean, use the raptors?!"

My dad and I looked at Claire, before anger bubbled up inside me, and I growled,

"Sunnuvabitch!"

"You shouldn't say bitch," Gray stuttered, and Zach and I shot him a withering look.

"Take the kids, and get 'em someplace safe," my dad ordered, and Claire was about to comply, until the groaning of the doors behind us caught our attention. We started to back away, just as the large metal doors gave way, spilling people into the tight passage we occupied.

We all scrambled into a Jeep, Zach, Gray, and I squished into the back, while my dad reversed hurriedly, trying to get safely away from the people without running anyone over. We backed into a dead-end, and sighed in relief, while we watched the people surge past in front of us.

"This does not feel safe," Zach commented, and I nodded in agreement, slightly out of breath.

"Can we stay with you?" Gray asked, and Claire turned around to answer him.

"I am never leaving you as long as I live-!"

"No, no, not you," Zach said hurriedly, giving her a strange look. "Them." He pointed between my dad and I, while we shared a look, right eyebrows raising in tandem.

"Yeah, definitely them," Gray said quietly, and I chortled under my breath.

We pulled up in front of the raptor paddock, and I was out of the Jeep before it even stopped. Owen and I walked side-by-side, striding up to where Hoskins was coming to meet us.

"The mother hen has finally arrived-!" My dad punched him square in the jaw, and Hoskins did a 180.

"Get the Hell out of here; and stay away from my animals." Dad fumed, and I crossed my arms over my chest, glaring at Hoskins.

"Hoskins, you wanted this to happen, you son of a bitch!" Claire hissed, standing on Owen's other side.

"Jesus! How many more people have to die, before this mission starts to make sense to you?!"

I stepped forward, and punched him hard, a bone in my little finger shattering on impact.

"You bastard!" I spat on him, and stared him down when he turned his gaze on me.

"This is an InGen situation now. There are gonna be cruise ships that show up here at first light, everybody's gonna get off this island, you're gonna watch a news story tomorrow, about how you all saved lives- No no, better yet: about how your _animals_ saved lives..!"

"They've never been out of containment," Barry urged, staring at my dad's stoic face.

"Lets' move it out!" Hoskins bellowed, and I sighed, closing my eyes briefly. "This is happening," he said, getting right in my dad's face. "With or without you."

"We know she's in Sector 5," my dad said, pointing to a spot on the map in front of the troops. "This is a game called Hide-And-Seek: it's a scent drill, we've done it about a thousand times with these animals."

"When they get on target, and they will get on target, _wait to engage_." I stressed, meeting the eye of every male there. "Velociraptors are pack hunters, they like to herd the animal into a kill-zone."

"That's when we get a shot; we get a clear shot, wait on my command, and give her everything you got. We've got one good target gentlemen-"

"Do not shoot our raptors!" I finished, glaring at several of the more trigger-happy men in the bunch. "Please."

"Hey, Zee," I crooned, stroking along the raptor's pale head. "How you doing there, girl? Relax for me..." I briefly examined the equipment strapped to her head, and made a rumbling noise when she growled at me. "You aren't scaring me, honey."

"Alex?"

I turned to see Gray and Zach leaning against the fence, watching me interact with Zee.

"What's up, little guy?"

"Are they safe?"

"No, they're not." I shook my head, and grinned at Gray.

"What're their names?" Zach asked, looking at Zee in particular.

"At the far end you have Nika: skittish little bugger. Next to her is Georgie, she's the only red raptor here." I informed them, pointing out her reddish grey hue. "Then we have Rogue, the blue-green one, and the albino one closest to you is Zee; the beta of the pack."

"Who's the alpha?" Gray asked, looking the other raptors, as if trying to pick a leader. I clicked my fingers, and his eyes fell on me again.

"You're lookin' at her."

Gray smiled, and Zach just nodded, looking impressed. I had an idea, and then looked around, making sure Hoskins was nowhere in sight.

"You wanna come talk to 'em?"

"Hell yeah!" Gray and Zach said in tandem, and I grinned, opening the side door, and locking it behind us. I set Gray in front of Georgie, the calmest of the group, and Zach stood in front of Rogue, the largest.

"Alright, so you need to be careful, and move slowly. Just put your hand on the side of their head, and speak nice and calmly to them, alright?" I demonstrated, murmuring words of comfort to Zee. "Got it?"

The boys nodded, and I walked up next to Georgie, laying my hand on her, beckoning Gray to do the same. I stroked her while Gray was touching her, and when she was calm enough, I stepped away, letting Gray take over. I did the same for Zach and Rogue, before taking a few steps back, watching them pet the raptors, while I smiled fondly. They were just starting to make some progress with them, when Claire turned up, and was calling the boys away.

"I'll see you two later, okay?" I said when I finally pulled the two away from the Velociraptors. I smiled sadly at Gray, and hugged him tightly. "You stay safe, little guy!"

"You aren't coming?" Zach asked in a serious voice, locking eyes with me. I shook my head, and straightened up.

"No. I have control over four of the eight raptors, so I have to help. Without me, who knows what they'll do..."

"Fine." Zach exhaled sharply, and looked at the ground, while Gray walked over to Claire. "Just look after yourself, alright?"

He looked up, and stepped forwards, cradled my face in his hands, and put his mouth to mine. We kissed for a few moments, lips moving in perfect synch, until Claire was pulling him away, rounding the corner, and stalking into the night, snatching both Gray and Zach from my view. My lips still tingled furiously, long after he was gone.

"Alright..."


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

 **"So... You and Alex, huh?"**

 **"Shut up, Gray..." I muttered, leaning my head back against the cold wall of the truck, and closing my aching eyes.**

 **"No, it's cool: I like her," Gray said earnestly, and the corner of my mouth twitched. "She's nicer than Monica, anyway..."**

 **"Ugh, Monica..." I groaned, letting my head fall forwards into my hands. What was I going to say to her when I got back..? Screeching from the raptors brought me out of my thoughts, and Gray gulped loudly.**

 **"Nothing's gonna get in here, right?"**

 **"Hey," I said quietly, looking at my little brother. I realised that throughout this whole mess, he'd changed... Matured. The Gray I was seeing now was completely different to the one that arrived on this stupid island, and for that I felt sad. I wanted to remind him of his youth again, if only for a minute. Just wanted him to forget the island, and the dinosaurs, and the danger, and just... be a kid again.**

 **"Do you remember that ghost, at the old house, do you remember: the one in the garage? ...I protected you."**

 **"With a battle-axe made out of a paper plate..." he whispered, nodding slightly.**

 **I had to blink back tears for a second, remembering the good times we used to have.**

 **"Yeah... See? Nothing's gonna get you when I'm around."**

 **"But you're not always gonna be around..."**

 **"Yeah, well... Hey. We're brothers, okay? We'll always be brothers, and we'll always come back to one another... No matter what."**

 **"No matter what?"**

 **I nodded, and pushed down the lump in my throat.**

 **"No matter what."**

 **I pulled him into a hug, and rested my head on his, wondering if we would make it through the night.**

I was perched on my black Suzuki motorbike, in between Owen and Barry, who was riding a quad-bike. We looked to each other, and nodded, ready for whatever the night would hold. Owen and I started up our bikes, and I nodded to the boy who stood over the raptor stalls, holding the release control.

He nodded back, and pressed the button. The doors shot open, and the raptors ran out, Owen's from the left, and mine from the right. We accelerated, headed straight into the depths of the forest. I followed the distinct sounds of Zee's yips and barks, rather than using my eyes to follow my pack. My pack was slightly ahead of Owen's, and was running in a tighter formation, running in a straighter and more precise line.

I sped up, and soon drew on a level with my raptors, Zee at my left, and the others slightly behind me. I locked eyes with Zee, and she bayed and chattered at me, the others chiming in to add their own information. It wasn't like I could understand them, but I could tell they were letting me know they were on target, and closing in. I nodded, and pressed the clicker twice, causing the raptors to face forwards, heads low, and pick up the pace.

I looked slightly behind me, to see Owen urging his raptors forwards, Barry close behind him, and the truck holding the ACU's even further back. I faced the front again, and weaved in and out of the trees, right on the raptors' tails. They started to slow, and I altered my pace, drawing level with my dad as he spoke into his microphone.

"They've got something."

We pulled to a stop, and the ACU's piled out of the van, cocking their guns as they went. We hopped off of our vehicles, and Barry was quick to hand me a pistol, and a scoped tranquilizer. We hurried forwards, and crouched behind a fallen tree, guns and eyes looking over the top of the trunk to observe the raptors.

There were the sound of heavy footsteps, and everyone held their breath. The Indominus stalked forward from the shadows, and stared intently at the group of raptors in front of it. The I-Rex gave a grumbling chattering noise, and Blue and Zee looked at one another, exchanging a few growls before Zee backed down, and Blue turned to face the large predator.

Blue yipped at the Indominus, and they traded a few primal noises, and with each passing second, my stomach shrivelled up smaller and smaller, a feeling of icy terror washing over me. I watched numbly as red dots light up all over the Indominus, one or two landing on Blue, as the ACU's flicked on their scopes, ready for action.

"Something's wrong," Barry muttered to my dad, not taking his eyes off of the dinosaurs. "They're communicating..."

"I know why they wouldn't tell us what it's made of." I croaked, tears filling my eyes, as I witnessed the raptors in front of us tense up, tails flicking, and their heads tilting as the Indominus made guttural barking noises.

"Why?"

"That thing's part raptor..." I whispered, right as Zee and Blue hissed, the eight raptors whirling around to snarl at us.

"Engage!" one of the soldiers bellowed, and gun shots rang through the forest. I was frozen for the longest time, until I locked eyes with Zee. I grit my teeth, and fired at the Indominus like everyone else, angry, bitter tears streaming down my face. After a few seconds, when the bullets don't seem to be doing anything, one man brought out a launcher, and fired at the Indominus.

It made direct contact, and the raptors scattered, the trees going up in flames, the bullets halting as the Indominus toppled to the ground. We waited for the smoke to clear, and when it did, we saw the Indominus getting to its feet, and slinking back into the darkness of the forest. We all fired blindly, but it had escaped.

I broke down in earnest now, slamming my guns into the floor, my frame wracked with deep aching sobs. Owen came over to stifle my noise, as well as try to calm me down.

"Come on, Alex, we have to get this done. I-"

"I can't kill them, Dad," I cried shaking my head frantically. "I can't bring myself to pull the trigger!"

"Alright, honey, it's okay," he soothed, scanning the forest every so often. "Listen, I'll get one of the guys to take you back to Claire in the Jeep. You get in that truck and stay there missy, am I clear?"

I nodded, and hiccupped once, before scrambling to my feet, and picking up the two firearms. Barry patted me on the shoulder, and quickly led me back to the Jeep, relaying my dad's instructions to the driver.

I hopped into the passenger seat, and sat there in stunned silence, while the man tore back through the ever-darkening forest at top speed, obviously terrified of encountering a raptor. We were back at the paddock with five minutes, and I jumped out of the vehicle before it had fully stopped. I walked numbly to the armoured truck, and pulled open the back doors, not even cringing when Gray hurled a snack bar at my head, completely missing.

"Alex?" Zach asked cautiously, taking in my tear-stained face, and the guns I held in each hand. My lower lip trembled, but I waited until I was in the truck, and the doors were closed until I broke again. I dropped the guns, and fell into Zach's arms, sobbing as I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"They were my family, and that dinosaur took them away from me," I choked out through my tears, clinging onto Zach's shirt as if it were a life-line. "The InGen bastards made it, and it ruined everything!"

"Hey now," Zach soothed, rubbing my back in circles, and I knew Gray was staring at me worriedly. "Hey..." he said in a softer voice, pulling back a little to brush my tears away. "We'll get them back, I promise. Just calm down for me, okay?"

I nodded, taking shuddering breaths, closing my eyes and pressing my lips together to stop them quivering. I heard the sliding of metal, and then I heard Claire's voice.

"What is-? Oh. She's crying. Um... can you get her to stop?"

"Go away, Aunt Claire," Zach snapped, and I heard the sliding of the hatch again.

"Are you okay now Alex?" Gray asked timidly, and I sniffed, nodding rapidly.

"I'm fine, just... Ugh!" I groaned, wiping hurriedly at my eyes. "I hate crying..!"

A slamming noise got our attention, and we listened as a man up front shouted for Claire to drive. The truck slammed into motion, and Zach and I went sprawling, Gray landing on top of us. I pushed myself to my feet, and just made out the screech of raptors from somewhere close by, when the truck jerked again, and I went flying into the wall, head connecting solidly with the metal.

I heard Zach and Gray's cry of alarm, and I caught one last glimpse of them crouching over me, the doors to the back of the truck hanging open, and three of the raptors on our tail. My eyes met Zach's, and then darkness descended on my mind faster than I could blink.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

I woke up slowly, half of my body pressed against something warm. I groaned, and shifted around a bit while taking a deep breath, the familiar scent of Owen's cologne hitting me. My eyelids fluttered open, and I made out my dad's blurry face peering down at me.

"You okay there kid?"

"No..." I mumbled, feeling a bit sick. I told him as much, and he chuckled.

"Going head first into the wall of a truck will do that to ya."

I squirmed again, and he grunted, letting me on my feet. I staggered, and Zach caught me, holding me upright.

"M'fine..." I groaned, pressing my hand to the top of my head, my cranium feeling incredibly tender.

"Okay then," Zach said doubtfully, still holding onto me. "Come on, I'll keep you steady. We're going to the labs, seeing if we can find out more about this dinosaur."

We walked along several cool corridors, which were doing wonders for my head, until we reached the lab, to find several burly men packing away the last of the dinosaur embryos into a cryogenic case.

"What are you doing?" Claire demanded, but the men just ignored her, and hauled the case from the room.

"I'm afraid that's above your pay-grade, honey," a slimy voice crooned. Vic Hoskins slunk around the corner, and Claire straightened up, showing she wasn't going to take any shit from him. Owen outwardly seemed neutral, but I knew he was about to shoot Hoskins any second. Gray slunk closer to us, and Zach's arm around my waist tightened infinitesimally.

"Where's Henry?" Claire asked in a clear voice, but Hoskins just waved her off.

"Dr Wu: he works for us."

Gray stepped away from us slightly, looking at a screen that displayed the genetic makeup of the Indominus.

"That's not a real dinosaur..."

"No it ain't kid," Hoskins agreed lightly, and I tugged on Gray's sleeve, getting him to come closer again. "But somebody has to make sure this company has a future. Imagine _that_ , but a fraction of the size. Able to hide from the most advanced military technology. A living weapon unlike anything we've ever seen. You see, millions of years of evolution: what did we learn? Nature is the gift- Oh shit!"

Nika came barrelling through the lab doors, head twitching side-to-side. Zach towed me backwards, and Owen stepped in front of us all, arms outstretched. Hoskins put his hand up, palm facing the crouched form of Nika as he stammered,

"Easy, easy boy. We're on the same side: right? Easy, easy... I'm on your side..."

Nika just stared at him, more jittery than a jack-rabbit in July. She suddenly lunged forward, and ripped his hand and half of his forearm off, his blood splattering the pristine glass and tiles.

"One last thing, dipshit," I yelled at Hoskins, as Owen shoved us out of the lab. "Nika's a _she_!"

"It's this way, come on!" Claire yelled, as we ran down the hallway, only to be intercepted as Nika leaped through the glass in front of us, blood running in tracks down her muzzle. We turned around, and sprinted the other way, Nika sliding a bit on the smooth floor behind us.

One of us would have been caught in the lobby, but on our way past the hologram plate, Gray reached over and activated a Dilophosaurus program. It hissed, and brought up its frill, causing Nika to stop in her tacks, and growl at the image, trying to tell it to back off.

We raced out onto the deserted street, to be met by Blue and Zee, who chattered at each other, before shrieking at us. Nika had managed to get past the hologram by this point, and circled around us, coming to stand slightly behind and to the left of Zee. Nika was the runt of the pack, and so I knew what this meant.

"Rogue and Georgie..." I swallowed hard, unable to finish. Zach squeezed my hand, and just then Echo and Delta decided to show up, fanning out around us, and penning us in.

"So that's how it's going to be, huh?" Owen asked Blue, who screamed at him again. I stepped slightly away from Zach, and stood in front of my two remaining raptors.

"Come on, you guys. What happened to protecting the pack?" I asked sadly. Nika hissed at me, while Zee just stared. I heard Owen drop his gun, and Blue growled at him.

"Easy," he said, and I could immediately sense the lack of command in his voice. He was treating Blue like an equal, and she responded, her breathing levelling out. I took a leaf from Owen's book, and looked into Zee's eyes, not as a challenge, but an acceptance.

Something shifted in her hard, reptilian gaze, and she dipped her head slightly. Taking the signal, I slowly walked forward, and gently grappled with her harness, managing to get it off her in the end. Nika lost hers somewhere along the way, so I just settled for patting her head.

A loud roar sounded from down the large street, and I stumbled back, both Zee and Zach lurching forward to catch me. Zach's hands were steady on my back, and Zee had the holster of my belt gently in her teeth, helping to tug me back to my feet.

The Indominus stomped down the long road towards us, before stopping in front of Blue, and roaring at her. Zee curled protectively around Zach and I; seemingly not liking what the I-Rex had to say if her snarling was anything to go by.

Blue glanced over at us, before making a few barking and chattering noises, issuing her orders. I saw her glances back to Owen and I quickly, revealing what the Indominus had asked her to do. But she held steady. Zee, seeing this, walked forward slowly, and stood at Blue's side. They shared a look, before turning to face their respective alpha, chittering softly.

I grinned, and winked at Zee, little tears gathering in my eyes. Zach hurriedly towed me back, when the raptors all turned in synch to screech at the Indominus, just before it attacked. It lunged forwards, and its tail whipped round to whack Blue, sending her soaring into the side of a building, falling limply to the ground.

Zee and Nika looked to me quickly. I just nodded, and they wasted no time. They charged forward, along with Delta and Echo, who were fuelled by the loss of their beta. They all leaped at the Indominus, giving us a chance to escape. We dashed madly to the side, and hopped behind one of the souvenir stands, peeking out at the battle over the counter.

Owen was still out there, firing occasionally at the Indominus, who was still struggling to take down the four nimble raptors. I huddled into Zach, who was running a soothing hand up and down my arm, while Gray counted under his breath, reeling off numbers on his fingers.

"Twenty four. Fifty." Something seemed to dawn on him, and he turned to look at me. "We need more!"

"More what?" Claire asked in confusion, but a plan was already running through my mind. If I was right...

"Teeth. We need more teeth."

I got to my feet, and opened an emergency box, pulling out a walkie talkie, and a flare.

"Okay," I said, taking deep breaths. "Just wait here. I'll be fine."

"But-!" Zach protested, but I quickly kissed him, cutting him off.

"I'll be back." I said gravely, looking into his eyes. "I promise."

Without another word, I took off running, weaving through the rubble and debris on the streets, making for one of the closest dinosaur exhibits. I ran for a few minutes, finally coming to a stop in front of a large door, with a large yellow 9 painted on it.

"Unlock paddock 9," I said into the talkie, before I dropped it to the floor, ripping the cap off of the flare as the door slid open. I stood in the darkened door way, waiting until I heard that first tell tale step. Once I did, that was it: I was off down the passage like a flash, the flare holding the T-Rex's attention as it charged after me.

I broke back onto the main street, and ran as far as I dared, before I hurled the flare at the Indominus, quickly ducking and rolling out of the way. I watched as Rexie's beady eyes followed the light, before it registered the Indominus. Rexie roared, and charged the Indominus, jaws clamping around the Indominus' neck.

The I-Rex got thrown to the floor, before it scrambled to its feet, and lurched at Rexie again. They staggered this way and that, as they both traded blows, and I spotted the others, running over to them before I could get hurt any further.

I ducked behind the rocks, and allowed Zach to hug me briefly while I caught my breath. We all looked over to see Rexie pinned by the Indominus, some serious wounds in her shoulders and neck. We looked on with bated breath, waiting for the final blow.

There were suddenly some low yipping sounds from further down the street, and even the Indominus looked that way, to see Blue and Zee, charging the monstrosity side-by-side. They leaped onto the back of the I-Rex, giving Rexie enough time to stagger to her feet, pushing the Indominus into a building. The two raptors and the T-Rex worked seamlessly to shove the Indominus as far away from us as possible, although nothing they did seemed to keep the Indominus down for long enough.

The T-Rex slammed into the Indominus once again, sending it careening into the fence lining the sea. It got to its feet, and roared at the Tyrannosaurus, about to deliver a crippling blow, when the Mososaurus lunged out of the water, and snapped the Indominus up in its mouth.

It flopped back into the ocean, and I laughed dazedly, never more glad to see that stupid dinosaur. Rexie turned her eyes onto Blue, and she skittered away nervously. The T-Rex just snorted at her, and trudged off. I got to my feet, already looking around frantically for Zee.

"Zee!" I shouted, a lump settling into my throat. "Zee?!"

I heard a strangled croak, and I sprinted forward, ignoring the shouts behind me to stop, since Blue was only a few metres away from the fallen Zee. I fell to my knees, shaking hands running along Zee's body, fingertips grazing the huge chunk the Indominus had torn out of her side.

"Come on, baby girl, don't do this to me..." I whispered, shaking my head as tears splashed onto her scaly skin, my expression crumpling. "You can't leave me like this..."

Zee shifted her head, and looked up at me sadly, wheezing out a couple of yips to me. I didn't speak raptor, but I got the message clear enough. ' _I had a pretty good run, huh?_ '

"You sure did," I laughed despite myself, tears refusing to stall. "You did good, Zee. I'm proud of you." I stroked down her neck soothingly as she relaxed into my hand. I was aware of Owen saying his own goodbyes to Blue, before she ran off down the street. Zach knelt by my side, and laid a cautious hand on Zee's head. She just purred, and shifted her head further into our hands.

I sat there, while dawn broke over the island, Zach Mitchell at my side, tears soaking the stones as we soothed an injured Velociraptor. We stayed by her the whole time, muttering soothing words, and just letting our eyes convey what we couldn't communicate. Thirty three minutes after the Indominus was dispatched, Zee passed away, and I cried next to her cold body until Zach found it in him to pull me away.


	10. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"This must have been the worst fucking holiday, huh?" I asked Zach jokingly, nudging him in the side while I sipped from a cup of coffee.

"The worst," he agreed, before snaring my free hand with his right one. "And the best."

"You big cheese-ball," I muttered, resting my head on his shoulder. We sat like that for a long time, just looking blankly at the crowd of people in the docking station, refusing to acknowledge the fact that we would be separated in just an hour or so.

"Hey, Alex, do you think you'll come and visit us at some point?" Gray wondered, walking over to us with a sandwich in his hand. I nodded, and pulled him close for a one-armed hug.

"Sure, little guy. And it won't just be to see your brother, I promise."

Gray chuckled, and Zach smiled at me, pressing a quick kiss to my temple.

"Hey, I know I lost my phone when we escaped the Gyrosphere, but I know your number. I'll text you when I get a new phone, and we can arrange to meet up at some point," Zach said quietly, his mouth a few inches from my ear. I nodded, and ran my fingers through Gray's hair, my chest already aching. I could see Claire coming towards us, and knew it was almost time for the boys to go.

I had lost so much in the past day: my colleagues, my job, my raptor pack, and now the Mitchells too..?

"Oh my god, it's your parents," Claire said, pulling the boys to their feet. I turned around to see a man and woman approaching, both in tears. They pulled Gray and Zach towards them, while Claire hugged the woman: they must have been sisters.

"Hey, Mom, Dad, this is Alex. She came looking for me and Gray, and made sure we were safe out there," Zach said, and both adults turned to me.

"Thank you for looking after my boys," their mother said, bringing me into a tight hug.

"Thank you so much. We're so grateful," their dad managed to choke out, and he shook my hand vigorously. I spied Owen waving to me over his shoulder, and decided to take my leave.

"Hey Zach, I have to go now, but I'll-!" Zach crushed me to him, and rested his head on mine.

"I promise I'll keep in touch. I'll see you around, Alex." He pulled away, and seemed to be hesitating over something. I rolled my eyes, and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Just kiss me you idiot." I grinned cheekily at him, and his arms closed around my waist, yanking me closer.

And kiss me he did.

 **Hi guys!**

 **Right, first I just want to apologise. I'm meant to be writing my Godly Initiative sequel, but to be honest, I ran into a huge amount of writers block, and since watching Jurassic World, I've had this story running around in my head. I decided to get it out as fast as possible, and half-way through this story, I had a huge epiphany concerning my sequel, so writing this fic was actually a good thing!**

 **I'm sorry if this seems rushed, and not up to my usual standard: I hosetly just had to get this out of my head, and I promise I'll come back to it and fix it later. For now, I hope you enjoy, and if you have any ideas as to how I could improve this, don't be afraid to review! All opinions are welcomed.**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed, and stay tuned for my Avengers: Age of Ultron fancfic 'The Next Time'! So,** _ **until**_ **next time.**

 **Ta-ta!**


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